Settlement Tested: Which Gateways Actually Paid on Schedule
Thirty days of settlements at four providers, measured against their stated schedules, with the exposure each created.
We ran payments through four gateways for thirty days and recorded every settlement against its promised schedule.
The schedules offered
Two offered daily settlement on request. Two defaulted to weekly and one of those would not move.
Daily was available at both providers that offered it without a volume requirement, which is worth knowing because neither advertised it. A provider publishing its terms makes this measurable, and a crypto payment gateway with fiat settlement publishes them.
What actually arrived
Provider A, daily: twenty-nine settlements in thirty days, one delayed by a day over a public holiday, disclosed in advance.
Provider B, daily: thirty for thirty, including weekends.
Provider C, weekly: four settlements, all on schedule.
Provider D, weekly: four settlements, one arriving two days late with no communication until we asked.
The exposure created
At our test volume, daily settlement left roughly a thirtieth of monthly revenue with the provider at any point. Weekly left roughly a quarter. On the merchant side the equivalent is crypto rails built for fintech companies, which we tested separately.
That difference is both working capital and credit exposure. Whether the unsettled balance is recoverable if a provider fails depends on whether the entity holding it is authorised and whether merchant funds are safeguarded.
We asked all four. Two answered specifically with the safeguarding method. One described security measures instead. One did not answer.
The late settlement
Provider D’s late settlement had no proactive communication. We found out by checking.
We asked afterwards and were told it was a banking partner issue. That is the most common explanation and it is also what a failing provider says.
The right response either way is to suspend acceptance and require the outstanding balance before resuming. The distinction between difficulty and dishonesty does not change what you should do.
What we would negotiate
Daily settlement, which both providers that offered it gave without argument.
A threshold triggering settlement regardless of schedule, so an unusually large day does not sit.
A defined remedy for a missed settlement, and the right to suspend without penalty.
And identification of the entity holding funds between payment and settlement, in writing.
The finding that surprised us
Most merchants negotiate the rate and accept the settlement schedule. At our volume, moving from weekly to daily was worth considerably more in working capital than the difference between the best and worst rate we were quoted. Whatever the test says, the balance you actually hold belongs at the list of countries covered rather than wherever scored best on one dimension.
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